I am thinking of accepting a small batch of aluminum part.
I will need a compressor that can blow air for days without over heating.
Any recommendations?
California Air 8 gallon hot dog is a popular one
I use the California air tools 8gal as well. I have cut aluminum with mist system for 10 hours straight with no issues. The compressor easily keeps up with the constant misting and occasional blow gun.
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I agree with California Air Tools. I bought an 11 gallon about 13 years ago. Still running strong. About six months ago I had the one plastic tube on the thing fail. It developed a split along the length in a bend. Given it was 13 years old it wasn’t that surprising. When I found it, it had been running for hours. The motor was extremely hot. Too hot to touch for sure. But, after replacing the hose and letting it cool down it went right back to working like it always did.
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Folks correctly say that their compressor works well even though it’s used more aggressively than intended. When I set up a compressor to provide “purge air” for CNC work on brass, I started with the volume of air (cubic feet) to be injected in each minute (CFM). Next, you have to decide what pressure is required. Compressors are sometimes labeled with the CFM that they’ll produce at uselessly low pressures. (That makes a cheap compressor appear better than it is). If you need 60 psi, the amount of air used will be much higher than at 5 psi. So you want to know the CFM that your compressor gives at that useful psi.
The ideal run time for a compressor is 1/3. If you need it to provide air for 6 hours, the motor should run for no more than 2. (It will run actually for 1-2 minutes and rest for 3-6). That means you want it to provide 3 times the CFM that you use at any given minute. If your system needs 100 CFM at 60 psi, then your compressor spec sheet has to promise 300 CFM at 60 psi.